On Monday, March 6, USCIS announced that it will expand the availability of premium processing to pending applications by international students for Optional Practical Training (OPT) and OPT extensions based on a STEM degree.  The agency’s announcement was effective immediately.  With premium processing, USCIS normally will take action on a case (either approve or request more information) in 15 calendar days, but with these applications, USCIS can take up to 30 calendar days.  The government filing fee for premium processing is $1,500 (which is a lot of money for international students!).

International students who wish to upgrade their pending applications to premium processing can do so online because USCIS has created an online version of the Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing, that can be accessed through a myUSCIS account. Applicants who previously filed a paper Form I-765 and wish to request premium processing online should create a myUSCIS account and reference the USCIS Account Access Notice they received for the Online Access Code.  This notice contains details on how to link paper-filed cases to an online account. More information on how to create a myUSCIS Online Account can be found here. 

Paper-based requests for premium processing upgrades will continue to be accepted as well. 

For OPT and STEM OPT applications filed on or after March 6, 2023, USCIS will begin accepting premium processing requests on or after April 3, 2023.  Please do not file a request for premium processing with an OPT or STEM OPT application filed between March 6, 2023, and April 3, 2023, because USCIS will reject it.  

International students who file OPT or STEM OPT applications after April 3, 2023, can request premium processing at the same time they file their application for OPT or STEM OPT.  They also can request an upgrade to premium processing later if the need for an approval becomes urgent.  For STEM OPT applications, the international student is automatically given an 180-day extension of authorization to work after filing the application so premium processing is usually not necessary in these cases.  The only obvious exceptions would be if the international student needs to travel internationally or renew their driver’s license and requires the valid EAD to do so. 

The agency’s full announcement can be found here.

This alert is for informational purposes only.  Please contact us if you would like to discuss this development further.